Toys
Most of the babies will have never seen a soft toy. Many children are afraid of soft toys and dolls. GlitterGirl was terrified of dolls and stuffed animals. TwinkleToes didn’t react to them at all.
But the stacking cups
Second favorite for both of them was the ring stacker thing
Both girls also liked the baby photo book
You do not want to overwhelm them with toys. Keep it simple. Start out with two stacking cups, and show them what they do. This one goes inside of this one, then you can take it out. Once they get the hang of it then you can add a few more to the mix. Some babies are more into the nesting thing, others more into the stacking thing. Show them both ways.
With the rings, start with the spindle and the biggest ring. Five rings all at once might be enough to overwhelm them. Maybe not, but it can’t hurt to go slow.
Both girls were at about the same toy skill level. Neither had seen them before, and both took a while to learn how to play with them. We’re talking an extremely young baby and an almost two year old. Let me say this again: Both girls had to be taught how to play.
If your child is in a HTS orphanage then they will be used to playing with toys. They will be so much further along developmentally, because they will have had a few hours a day to lay in the floor with someone and play with toys. And, if they’ve been in a foster home then they may (or may not) be accustomed to toys. So of course what I’m saying isn’t an absolute. But, it seems to be the experience of the majority of families who have adopted – their children did not know how to play with toys and were easily overwhelmed. And, dolls and plush toys are often scary to them.
Yes, I’m aware this doesn’t apply to 100% of the babies adopted. But in my experience (seen with my own eyes and hearing so many anecdotes from other parents over the years) it is the case the vast majority of the time.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:30 am
Stacking cups are great! You can buy them for a couple of dollars at IKEA, so they also make a great gift to the SWI.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Our DD, 9 months old on Gotcha Day, loved the little soft stuffed doll we brought. That doll was the favorite of DD and another baby in our group. DD’s manual dexterity was very underdeveoped but the doll had braids made of yarn so it was fairly easy to hang onto. Her other favorite was a small board book of baby facial expressions (Baby Faces). We have been home for 6 weeks now and she still loves that book and babbles/reads it back to us. The other day she said her “first words” that we have been able to distinguish. She said, “Happy Baby!”, the first picture/words in the book. She has said it several times, using the same tones we use when we read it to her. I could go on and on about how cute it was but this is not the time or place. :)
April 17th, 2009 at 8:00 am
We sent a small soft toy in our care package which our daughter had on our meeting day. It was also a great comfort to her during the transition. We also found bubbles were great and good for attachment. Our daughter was 13 months old and from a SWI new to IA! But also came with her own teddy and knew how to play.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Neither of our girls were interested much in toys at first. They were 12 and 9 months at gotcha day. Our first daughter only wanted whatever we touched – a toothpaste box, brush, spoon, etc., but could have cared less about the toys we brought – stacking cups, a book, a stuffed animal.
Our second daughter was delayed to about a six month level, so she had some catching up to do before she could play with much of anything. When she could, though, she liked blocks and rattles and eventually loved the stacking cups.
Both our girls, though, took immediately to a blanket and it quickly became their object of choice.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:26 am
What is an “HTS”? And what does SWI stand for?
April 17th, 2009 at 8:30 am
HTS is Half the Sky: http://www.halfthesky.org/
SWI is Social Welfare Institute, it’s what most orphanages are now called. Some of the older ones are still called CWI – Children’s Welfare Institute.
You might want to check out the FAQ: http://chinaadopttalk.com/faq/
April 17th, 2009 at 8:33 am
RQ,
I just want to say thank you to you and all the respondents over the last week or so. …..I have found these posts to be some of the most informative, honest, need to know information for those of us who are waiting and just recently brought home our children. You really ought to be “part of the home study” as an important link for prospective parents.
Thank you…LID March 17, 2006.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:46 am
The best toy for our daughter was a soft book which had a page with a mirror. Although too young to recognize the reflection as being herself, she really enjoyed seeing the familiar little face peering back at her: the only completely familiar thing she now had in her new surroundings (there were large mirrors in her orphanage playroom, so I suspect her caregivers held children in front of them for entertainment. That mirror was the best toy we could have brought.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:47 am
our daughter had just turned 9 months of age by Gotcha day.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:47 am
luckymama2one Said:
Neither of our girls were interested much in toys at first. They were 12 and 9 months at gotcha day. Our first daughter only wanted whatever we touched – a toothpaste box, brush, spoon, etc., but could have cared less about the toys we brought – stacking cups, a book, a stuffed animal.
—–
That is why I said you have to show them how to play. You have to play with the cups and the rings in front of them, so that they will want to do it as well. If you don’t play with the toys yourself, the child won’t know what to do with them. They will only want what they do see you playing with (in this case, the toothpaste and brush, apparently).
Don’t just plop a toy down in front of the child and expect them to figure it out on their own. It is possible they’ve never played with a toy before. You have to show them, teach them.
And, again – if the child has been in a HTS orphanage then they will have played with toys before. There are a few other orphanages that have put rooms in similar to the HTS playrooms, and in those SWI’s the children will have played with toys as well. You’ll find this out when you join your child’s orphanage group after you get your referral.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:08 am
The ring toy reminded me of my girl’s EI. We/she didn’t have the ring stacker. So they pull it out and she just looks at it. And they are whispering, can’t stack (she is 18 months at the time). I look at the ladies, and say she has never seen that before. They showed her once, boom she stacked them all correctly. She then went and put on her shoes to walk them out.
In China, she loved her bowls with lids, spoons, and large bottle caps.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Our son’s favorite toy was definately the stacking cups. He was 7 months old when we met him and began the 1 month bonding period (Kaz adoption). One of the stacking cups actually got left in his baby house play room because he refused to let go of it one day when our bonding session was over and he had to go back to his room. It brings up a fond memory now to look at the incomplete set.
Like bethsnow experienced – our son LOVED the “Baby Faces” book. He still likes to read that one and will pretend to read it to us. “Moo Baa La La La” was also a hit; the first time he tried to imitate us was to say the La La La part.
I also recommend a sturdy, gaudy, plastic bracelet (or necklace). It got DS attention focused on me when I was wearing it, and he enjoyed shaking it and handing it back and forth. Toys that played classical music when hit or shaken were also a big hit, but it might depend on whether or not the babies are used to hearing music regularly.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:59 am
as far as teaching your child to play- my daughter was 22 months at adoption and had no idea how to play with a toy. I was buying infant toys for her, with the thought that you had to start at infant toys and then work your way up. The OT we were using told me that was not so, that I should just buy age appropriate toys and then teach her how to use them. We did and she caught on easily.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Just a comment to what RQ added to my post…we did play with the toys in front of DD#1 and she still wasn’t interested in them. In fact, it took her months before she like toys much at all. To this day she still prefers everyday items to toys. That’s just her personality, I guess.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Our daughters (9 months for first one and 15 months for second at Gotcha) loved the little butterfly chew toy. It had sides that moved and nubby wings they could chew on. They seemed comfortable with that.
Also a big thing was a mirror that lit up and played music. We found that in the White Swan play room and DD 1 was immediately taken by it. We bought one for home and DD 2 also loved it. They also loved rolling and squeezing the little balls from another toy.
Stacking cups were big.
What you should also find out is if the SWI gave the kids blankets or towels to cuddle. DD2 had a yellow towel or blanket in her crib and to this day (she is 3) can not go anywhere without her yellow towelie.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Our son was two, and he loved books that sang to him. We took several and he wore the batteries down listening to the music over and over. He also loved anything that had wheels or flashing lights. He had been in foster care, and the photos of his SWI showed toys on the floor so he had some experience with toys. But he hated, and still hates, any stuffed animal. He will cuddle a soft blanket or pillow, but not an animal.
And ditto on the towels. We found out after the fact that his SWI gave them towels for safety objects. He came without a towel, but he grabbed one quickly and never let go. There is a White Swan hand towel in his memory box now.
April 17th, 2009 at 11:08 am
bethsnow – which Baby Faces book was that? I did a search at Amazon and found 3 – Baby Faces by DK Publishing , Baby Faces (Look Baby! Books) by Margaret Miller and Mrs. Mustard’s Baby Faces (Mrs. Mustards) by Jane Wattenberg. It looks like there are even more further down in the search results.
And RumorQueen – thank you so much for the past few posts. I’ve been saving them. I really need this kind of information! And all the people commenting too – they are very helpful also!
April 17th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
It’s funny, I brought a whole wak of toys with me but my DD’s favorite, by far, was a little plastic bowl and plastic Chinese spoon she could rattle in it (constantly!) We got them there. As well (& this is no surprise) any box or container – not the contents!
The stuffies etc. were an acquired attraction.
http://www.atlastmilanascominhome.blogspot.com
April 17th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I wonder if Amazon.com monitors this site, because they are offering a special deal, stacking cups + the ring toy, together, for one price!
April 17th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Add my dd to the list of kids who had probably never seen a toy. We brought stacking cups and a small soft doll. Once we showed her how the cups worked she liked those (nice for a bath toy also!!). She never exhibited fear of any stuffies or dolls as I’ve heard other kids have. Her favorite activity in the hotel was to drum on the bottom of the ice bucket with brushes and combs. She loved it!
Once we visited her swi a few days later, it was pretty clear that she’d never seen a toy. I saw none while we were there except for a single inflatable pool ball that had been brought out for the kids on the grass. The ball was brand new and completely ignored by the kids. I was obviously just brought out for show since we were there.
The director told us that the kids were brought out play on the grass for about 1-2 hrs each day. I believe it because all their faces were fairly tan –and they obviously spent a good bit of time singing songs with the nannies and clapping their hands because they could all do it and got very happy!!!
DD now loves, loves, loves her stuffies! In fact she has a special monkey for bedtime, another for in the car and a 3rd that is in our family room for play time.
susan
April 17th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
DS (13 months) also loved the bath book and some of the board books. One had a mirror on each page, it was a baby einstein. Keys or links were big just to rattle and look at. The water bottle empty or partially full, the big plastic container to hold the wipes and a small ball rounded out his favorites. The play phone a non-hit, the vibrating light, rattle, dragon with clip also not exciting.
The bath book was great out and about as well as in the bath. It didn’t make a loud noise when dropped and easy to wipe clean. Also easy to hold the back page and he could handle it easily.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
I agree with most everyone here. Our daughter was nearly 2 1/2 when we traveled to China. She didn’t understand anything about toys and had no clue what to do with them. We bought some blocks in China that we played with her and we also brought with us an inflatable beach ball. She loved the ball once we showed her what to do with it. We all had a lot of fun with it and it was the easiest thing to pack.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
My first daughter was adopted at 11.75 mths. Almost anything was a toy to her. She enjoyed playing with all the toys in the playroom provided by the hotel in Changsha. The toys were was that could be easily disinfected (no stuffed animals). My second daughter also seemed to enjoy any toy introduced to her. She was adopted at 8.5 mths. of age. The thing that surprised me is how both girls loved the toy kitchen and utensils when they came home. They both seemed to know how to do make believe play w/o being taught.
April 17th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
My grandbaby was 9 1/2 mos. at gotcha date. Her parents had taken a small furry tiger and a light flannel blanket with them. Grace (Bo Ni) loved the tiger but unfortunately it was lost when they went on vacation shortly after they returned (long planned reservation, with family). She still has the blanket, which she calls MeMe. We have tried to find a duplicate without success, so MeMe is often a little bedraggled.
Grace has never had a fear of water and one of the things that stopped her from crying that first day was a bath in the little tub supplied by the hotel.
As a matter of fact, she quickly adapted to both of her new parents. At first she wanted one or the other in her sight or preferably to be holding her. Now that her mother has returned to work, she stays happily with the babysitter or with me when I have been called into service.
As far as eating was/is concerned, Grace loved congee but when other food has been introduced, she has quickly taken to anything and everything. (We did have to watch her because she would put whatever she found on the floor into her mouth).
Grace was sick with flu-like symptoms in China, as was almost everyone in the group of parents and babies. She was seen by a Chinese Dr. there, was given some medication whch helped. However she was still throwing up formula after she arrived home. Daughter-in-law called Dr. Aronson who told them to switch her to a formula with iron, but to dilute it drastically. Dr. Aronson was special about calling everyday for a few days to make sure that Grace was getting better. Eventually it was decided to switch Grace to soy formula. (She was checked for parasites, etc. and had none). She still drinks two bottles a day, warmed soymilk at this stage.
The information supplied with the referral said that Grace liked music and that still seems to be the case.
I realized this morning that it was approximately a year ago that they received their referral for LID 3/7/05. This year’s 3/7/06 is on schedule to go to China in June if it follows last year’s pattern.
Last year, it was extremely hot and wet in China. (Remember the dam burst in one of the nearby provinces). The result of all the rain and the fact that so many of the group were in various stages of being ill, was that the group didn’t get to the orphanage. That was somewhat unfortunate because their agency had not wanted or had not suggested that they send a camera ahead for pictures. I have copied some of the SWI site/rooms/furnishings/caretakers from our SWI website and sent them to my son for Grace’s memory book.
(Sorry if this is somewhat disjointed. I’m trying to remember some of the points that others have convered in regard to their children).
April 17th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
PS
Grace wasn’t potty trained or anything related to going on command. Like any other baby, she doesn’t like to be in a poopy diaper and will let you know-if you can avoid smelling it. She has no problem with a wet diaper.
Even when she first came home she had a few words, such as cat and MeMe. Early on she called her sister Emma by name, at about the same time as she learned DaDa. When I speak to her on the telephone or on webcam, she yells out, “Grandma”.
April 17th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Our son was fascinated by a small plush toy that made music (it was a duck, when you pressed its tummy its cheeks lit up & it played the tune “twinkle, twinkle little star). He didn’t have much interest in any of the other toys — all of which I had carefully selected after much research. The duck was, of course, a lcheap ast minute impulse buy while enroute to the checkout counter at Target!!!!
April 17th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
RQ thanks for the link and Mamman thanks for the IKEA tip. I have been looking for cups for a long time. Walmart had crappy ones that I didn’t like. Next time i’m over in the Lauderdale area I will stop by IKEA.
Sherri,
LID 08-08-06
http://thejolivanafamily.blogspot.com
April 17th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Our children were both 25 months old the days we met them. Our daughter (not from a HTS orphanage) had no idea how to play with toys and hated stuffed animals and dolls, our son (from a HTS orphange) was developmentally on course. Despite their differences in development, they still loved the same toys: beach ball, bubbles & stacking cups. And the absolute favorite with both of them was a small backpack. They both loved packing and unpacking their own backpack and looking through it’s contents. In fact, even today (now almost 3 & 4 years old) they both love their backpacks, which are used for all kinds of things. The “going to school game” is a big one right now. Watching our children’s imaginative play, oftens reminds me how far we have come and what an amazing journey it’s been.
April 17th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
My DD#2 is in a HTS orphanage and in the pictures we have gotten we have seen: a bicycle, a slide, balls, stuffed animals, one of those corn popper push toys, and a ride on car. There is also a huge playroom with a padded floor and lots of shelves with toys. HTS is really amazing. DD#1 had none of those things. We know that she had a walker because we have one picture of her in it and thats all.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
This really brings back memories! It took us about a week to convince our daughter that a stufffed animal could be a great thing. We played with the dog, stroked it, hugged it and let it wag its tail. Once she grabbed the dog she checked it out literally from tip to toe , very careful chewing it from ear to ear, tail, nose and each paw individually. It was the cutest thing and to this day 4 years later that dog goes everywhere she goes. If you look in our family albums you might wonder if its the dog or the girl who is our main target! She was one years old(minus one day) when we got her.
They had a playground room at the hotel and she did know how to run around in the walking chairs that they had, that was a great thing. She ran from mom to dad and back between us on the second day. Talk about adaptive! There were several other kids and parents in the room and she seemed to listen when we called for her. I would hardly believe it happened but we have it on film to remind us. Kids are truly amazing! And they are survivors.
They also had rocking horses and other rocking animals in plastic in the playground and several kids liked those. Watch out though cause it turned out they could tilt backwards if you rocked it to hard.
It took years before she appreciated batteri-driven toys, with sound or movement.
Stacking cups, walking practice and just moving around freely on the bed were great adventures, you can spend a lot of time checking out the hotel room! Ballons are a great thing to bring!
April 17th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I wish I had been more savvy about all this last July when we met our 2 1/2 year old in Guangzhou. Our social worker had advised a transitional item. So I chose a plush teddy bear. I sent the SWI a photo album that said in Chinese…this bear is where you will soon be. Pictures in the album showed our family, her new room/bed, car with the bear in the places she would be. I dutifully brought the bear to our first meeting as it was theoretically going to create a link between us and her experiences at the orphanage. Whereupon I learned that she had never played with plush toys and in fact was terrified of anything furry or cuddly. DUH and double DUH. Her nanny saw our mutual distress and presented a piece of hard candy to her which calmed her down and made her very happy.
If I could have a do-over. I would still try for the transitional item but it would be a hard plastic toy with a bell in it. OR I would come prepared with food and several small toys with various feels/textures to them. I have learned that my daughter likes to play with regular household items like brooms, mops and dust plans, dishes and pots. It has been nine months and she has begun to play pretend games and now interacts with toys/puzzles.
Fortuantely, our first day was salvaged because I brought bubbles to blow for her in the hotel room once we got back. She LOVED these and “bubble” was her first English word. Every kid is so different and then add on top of that different SWI practices… . First meetings with our kids are kind of like a box of chocolates…you never know what you are going to get (Forrest Gump)
April 17th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
shemajo40, the best stacking cups that I’ve seen are made by Sassy…our Target usually has a good selection of Sassy toys (in the baby department, not the toy dept), but you cna probably find them on-line too. Sassy also makes a great baby photo album.
frteach, I have a picture of DD in a walker too, but she obviously didn’t spend much time in it…she couldn’t even sit up when I met her.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
our daughter’s orphanage sent her off with a picture book/diary of her year there… not sure how common that is, but i think we’re extremely lucky. in that diary, it says that she was terrified of “hairy” toys (which must mean furry; our translator was a wee bit off with her english!)… anyway, her orphanage had TONS of toys and a play room with a shiny wooden floor and lots of mirrors that made it look like a gym, where the kids spent hours every day. she loved the stacking cups too, but really anything you PLAYED with and were SILLY with would do…we brought some baby socks with bunny rattles on them, and her favorite thing was when we put the bunny sock on our heads and let it fall off. cracked her up. play play play! you’ll be so overwhelmed…but play!
April 17th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Thanks RQ & all, this post has been very useful for us. We have just been referred an almost 3 year old with health issues, in SWI since 5/12 (despite requesting a healthy baby – we are mid-40s). so have been reading, reading over the last few days including looking for info for what best to into care package & what type of toys to take etc etc. thanks Portlandval – will definitely use your tips. does anyone else have any other ideas for assisting a 3 y/o girl (& us!) transitioning – would be greatful for any ideas.
PS have joined SWI yahoo group – another excellent tip we learnt from this site a while ago.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Ditto to what a lot of others have already said. My DD (10 mos when we received her) came from a non HTS SWI but was in foster care. She was well taken care of, and well fed. But she had been bundled up the whole time and just not used to move around. She did not even know how to use her hands, to play, or even to self feed. She did not crawl and could barely sit up. She was grieving the first few days, so it was hard to tell if it was because she did not want to or couldn’t. By the time we left China, she could play with simple toys (ball, rattle) and could most definitely self feed little snacks. She caught up quickly with her peers and now, just a few days shy of 3, she’s at par or above her peers. The funny part is were she is probably the most advanced is small motor skills. She’s the only kid in her pre-school class that can handle zippers and real buckles.
Rachel, mama to Sophie (bio) and Margaux, FengCheng, Jiangxi
http://sophieandmargaux.blogspot.com/
April 17th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
ladeeesquire Says:
April 17th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
__________________
Yes, I believe that the babies did some listening to music and had learned to clap. Grace could follow her father’s clapping and slapping his thigh almost immediately when they were still in China.
I don’t think she had any toys though. At first, she would play with her hands and fingers if she didn’t have something else presented to her. That continued for awile after she came home. Also, she did have a head-banging problem. Her family discussed this with Dr. Aronson who said it probably would pass if we continued to tell her no when she started to do it. Probably due to boredom. Ditto the playing with her hands/fingers.
Grandma
April 17th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Stacking cups (Sassy from Target)bubbles and picture books were a big hit as was a small padded ball and pull-along caterpillar with removable shapes I bought at Wal-Mart in Nanchang. She was just under three when we met her and was in a HTS orphanage. She was not afraid of toys that made noise as was evidenced by the obnoxious cell phone her big brother bought her (if the windows in the White Swan opened in our room that thing would have been long gone ;0) She did attach to a small winnie the pooh stuffed animal, which is really just a head and arms clutching a very small soft blanket with a satin edge. She sleeps with it every night as she did since her first night with us. She is not big on stuffed animals and only mildly tolerates her American Girl Bitty Baby. Although she loves to push her in the tiny stroller. She has no interest in the toy she came with, which is the little Chinese doll sent by Anne in the care package.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Our daughter was most interested in cell phone ringtones. Her nannies told us on Gotcha Day that they always soothed her with their cell phone ringtones. We didn’t bring our charger because we don’t have a satellite phone, so we were out of juice in only a few days! We read in her paperwork that she liked to play with cell phones, so we bought her a toy cell phone and brought it. No, a toy was NOT what she was used to!
She also loved the stacking cups. She was able to play, but she was in a very small orphanage, and seemed to get plenty of attention. She was the only child in our group from her SWI and THREE staff members made the long trip to bring just one baby. So, I’m sure her experience isn’t typical.
She had no use for dolls or soft toys until she was at least 2 1/2.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
To those of you who have seen toys included in pictures taken at the SWI– I spent years working in an orphanage and the toys were brought out to take pictures [or for props for a visitor tour] and then locked back up immediately. After a time, I would bring my own toys in my back to let the children play with, just simple stuff that was colorful to stimulate their senses. I tried to bring in dolls once for the two room mascot toddlers but they didn’t know what to do and it was a complete failure. Sometimes we would bring in rattles, balls, etc.. and then by the next week they would be gone again. My point, however, is just because you see the mirage of the simple things of childhood like toys and such– don’t believe it is true in all circumstances. Many times it is not. http://kaybratt.blogspot.com/
April 18th, 2009 at 2:11 am
This is so true! Our daughter was 15 mos. on adoption day and we brought her back to the hotel, sat her on the bed, offered her a soft toy, and she did not like it at all. We then took out the stacking cups, placed them in front of her, and we saw our daughter smile for the FIRST time! It was a moment I will never forget!!!
April 18th, 2009 at 8:03 am
My oldest didn’t appear to have had any experience with toys but took to the stacking cups right away. I don’t know that my youngest ever played with actual toys but the first picture I have of her at the orphanage she is playing with a cell phone and you’ll never guess what she was playing with when they brought her to meet me….a box cutter.
April 18th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Our daughter had a stuffed winnie the poo when we got her. She had been in foster care and i really thought it had just been bought as a gift for her, kind of a going away gift. Well, every time she had it she sucked on its nose,lol! I looked at it and she had been doing that for a while because the hair around his little nose was all matted down,lol!
April 18th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Our DD loved this plastic key that played music,and sounds. She would cycle through until she found the wheels on the bus and would only let that song play. I know the people around us on the plane were tired of hearing it but better than a screaming baby. She still loves music and that song….
To go back to a post a few days ago about the baths….Our DD had a horrible rash at Gotcha. The only way to figure out if it was a heat rash, or something more serious was to give her a bath and change her clothing. All the books and “experts” say this is a no no, but the bottom line is you have to go with what works, and what is needed. I still wish we had investigated her little body more as she has a very small scar that I would love to know the origin of.
April 19th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Our daughter was just shy of her first birthday when we got her and I really hadn’t taken much for toys, at least I don’t remember. You may think that odd but on that first night she was more interested in interacting with us. I would blow her sock and fling it, and she would just giggle. I think we did that for an hour or so. And during her first bath, she played with the plastic soap container.
She did take to two things right away…a fleece blanket I had brought, and walking. I would hold her hands and she would take off. I spent all our time in China hunched over, helping her walk, or carefully walking with her as she pushed the stroller. She also loved the blanket which became her security item that she needed to go to sleep with. She didn’t care for dolls and now at 5, she only plays with them occasionally. She does like her stuffed kitties though. At 18 months we saw one while shopping and she took to it. She called it Mao and that is still her favorite, even though she now has about 10 other stuffed kitties that sleep with her every night.
April 19th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Stacking cups, bubbles, and (ironically) chopsticks from the breakfast buffet. She was 13 months and loved holding on to them and tapped the pillow with them.
I also bought several small (~3×5) laminated books with a spiral binding at a Barnes and Nobles-like bookstore there. They are different themes: shapes, colors, animals, food. They have Chinese, pinyin and English on them.
Also, while at that bookstore, I asked my guide to pick out several children’s CDs of lullaby songs that she may have heard. I just popped them in my laptop and hit MediaPlayer. She loved them (and still does.) One of the best things I bought there.
M2I
http://www.MyChineseShamrock.blogspot.com
April 20th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Our DD is still scared of most dolls, we’ve been home a year. She was in a HTS orphanage, but still didn’t really know how to play with toys. By the time we got to GZ, she started understanding the stacking cups…but more from the banging them together perspective. When we got home, the rings have been her favorite. She LOVES to carry them around. Every picture I have taken of her for the first 10 months we were home there is a ring in the picture–either next to her or in her hand(s). She still loves to play with them, but not as much now.
we also brought the soft photo book with pictures of the Wogs (especially so she wouldn’t freak out when we got home) as well as family she would be meeting. It seemed to work well.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:37 am
One other thing – with our first daughter, she did love the teething ring butterfly, but one of her favorites was a half-full bottle of water. She loved carrying it around, mouthing it, listening to the slosh of the water. She would shake it and shake it all the time. We kept that bottle of water for years!
April 20th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
This is another great thread. Any thoughts on what toys might be appropriate for a 4 year old girl who is in foster care? Her records state her favorite toy is a ragdoll. She was previously in a HTS orphanage, and it’s not clear whether she goes to their preschool or not. I haven’t seen a picture of her with a toy yet.
Thx.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:59 am
Those stacky cups are awesome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydShzAg5C6E
Our DD Elizabeth took right to them and enjoyed knocking them down. It was great for exercise. No matter how far away in the room I stacked them she would charge over to knock them over. The video was made in our room at the White Swan having been a family for about 7 days.